For transgender youth who choose a name different from the name given at birth, use of their chosen name in multiple contexts appears to affirm their gender identity and lower mental health risks known to be high in this group.Russell ST, Pollitt AM, Li G, Grossman AH. Chosen Name Use Is Linked to Reduced Depressive Symptoms, Suicidal Ideation, and Suicidal Behavior Among Transgender Youth. J Adolesc Heal [Internet]. 2018 Mar [cited 2018 Apr 13]; Available from: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1054139X18300855

This finding from the study strongly corroborates my experiences from the KPLantern project and the incredible mismatch between the expectations of medical professionals and the people they serve.

We/I learned there that one of the most important things health care can do to support our patients who are transgender or gender nonconforming is to use people’s names correctly.

This is also tied to a recent study I blogged about here, which shows that it’s far more costly to humans and the health care system to deny care than to provide it for these populations: